UN looks for recipe to tackle global food dysfunction

UNITED NATIONS - Billions of people are overweight, millions are hungry, one third of food is wasted and the way the world produces, processes and consumes food generates one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said on Thursday at the first global summit on the future of food.

The aim of the summit is to deliver progress on 17 sustainable development goals, created by the United Nations in 2015 as a wide-ranging "to-do" list including ending hunger and poverty, achieving gender equality and taking action on climate change.

Guterres told the summit - held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic on the sidelines of the annual high-level U.N. General Assembly - that food systems un.org/en/food-systems-summit need to support the health and well-being of all people, protect the planet and support prosperity.